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A British family have said they were robbed by thieves who pumped noxious exhaust fumes into their campervan as they slept in a rest area by the side of a motorway in France.

The family were left traumatised after thieves in the town of Bourges, reportedly pumped noxious gases into their caravan to make them unconscious so they could rob them.

The Chadwick family from Derby in the UK had been driving back to the UK from Spain in July when they pulled into a service station on the A71 in their campervan, according to reports in the British press.

According to the mother Linda, the family “all woke up around the same time, at 6am, with terrible headaches and sore throats. We were all in shock. It was awful.”

They then realised they had been robbed of around €2,000 of their belongings.

French police were called out and sent the family to hospital for tests, whey they were informed they had been poisoned by gas. They had all suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and were told they could have died.

It is believed the thieves attached a tube to their exhaust pipe and pumped the fumes into the caravan from underneath the vehicle. They then broke in once they were confident the occupants were all out for the count.

“The police told us they wait for you to get into the camper van at night,” said mother Linda.

Reports say Bourges police have confirmed they are investigating the robbery but have not yet made any arrests.

According to reports in the British press, it is not the first time holidaymakers have been targeted by thieves using this modus operandi.